Jacob Zuma May Get The Last Laugh On Nkandla

Jacob Zuma May Get The Last Laugh On Nkandla

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This week, South Africans watched the beginning of the end of the long, sordid Nkandla saga which has dogged President Jacob Zuma for over six years. The case was brought to the court by South Africa’s political opposition, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who were thrown out of the opening session of parliament on Thursday after repeatedly disrupting Zuma’s State of the Nation Address.

It has been a tough week for the President, who could face a lengthy impeachment process if firebrand EFF leader Julius Malema has his way. Appearing before the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Zuma’s lawyer Jeremy Gauntlett admitted that the president had made a mistake in choosing to ignore a 2014 report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, which claimed he had “unduly benefited” from state-funded upgrades to his palatial homestead—which included a swimming pool and amphitheater and totalled 246 million rand ($23 million at the time). The property is in Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal province, near the east coast of South Africa.

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